Monday, March 11, 2013

Guest Post - Laura

As we continue to post our own blog posts, we have been reaching out to those dealing with a mental health illness or disorder to talk about how they deal and cope. Today's post comes from Laura, who has suffered from depression most of her adult life.___________________________________________________________________

This month I moved.I
have two major deadlines at work.By
March 31 I will have travelled to New York, Vancouver, Montreal and
Ottawa.I have a workshop that I have to
participate in and will be evaluated on and I’m nervous.I’m the maid of honor in two weddings this
summer and my duties for those wedding have ramped up.

Needless to say, I’m a little stressed.

As someone who has suffered from depression for most of my
adult life, stress and I don’t always get a long.There are some people that are incredibly
productive and resilient during the most difficult times.Their able to turn stress and anxiety over
something into fuel and drive.For me
stress can upset all sorts of things and impact my sleep, my weight, and my
general emotional well-being.There was
a time in my early twenties where any stressful situation paralyzed me.It made navigating the ups and downs of life
extremely difficult.

For people that suffer from a mental illness of any sort -
scratch that - for ANYONE – learning how to deal with stress in a healthy way
can be difficult.I’m no expert, but in
this post I’d like to share a few things with you that I have learned to be
incredibly helpful in dealing with stressful times and have helped kept my
physically and mentally well.

Reach Out

The first and most important lesson I have learned is that I
need emotional support during times of stress.When I have a lot going on in my life, I know that I have the tendency
to feel the weight of it all emotionally.I get teary, maybe I’m not sleeping as well and in order to build my
resilience I need to have an outlet.For
me that outlet comes in the form of a professional with whom I speak twice a
month.Its important that I have someone
that helps me to reflect on what’s going on for me and suggest helpful strategies
to work through times of difficulty.A
really good friend, family member, coach or mentor can also be a good person to
reach out to if speaking to a professional isn’t your thing.Sharing our challenges can be a good outlet
and can go far in helping us unload some of the emotional weight that stress
can cause.

Eat well

Pass the peanut butter chocolate ice cream.Seriously.Give it to me.

I have been known to eat my feeling in times of stress.Anything delicious gives me temporary comfort.Unfortunately it ultimately it makes me feel
a whole lot worse. In order to get through times that are challenging mentally
our body needs the proper fuel.The best
thing that you can do is to show yourself some love by taking time out to eat
healthy and nutritious foods.You’ll
feel better, operate better and chances are you’ll sleep better if you’re
filling your body with whole, nutritious foods instead of a pint of ice cream.

Exercise

When I’m busy with work or travelling I get tired.Really tired.As a result, exercise is usually the first thing that gets eliminated
from the schedule – I make excuses because I think I just don’t have the
energy.I have learned again recently
that this is probably the worst thing I can do.During times of stress I need to carve out time to sweat.It helps me shake my sillies out and
re-focus.It also helps me have more
energy to keep on keeping on and to do the other things on this list - like
making healthy meals and reaching out when I need to.Endorphins are powerful things!

Theme Music

There are all sorts of studies that connect listening to
upbeat or soothing music to improving one’s mood.For me, a great song can help to distract me
and ease tension and anxiety.Over the
past month I have made a conscious effort to turn music on when I’m at home or
listen to my iPod more on the way to work to get the positive vibes
flowing.Right now I’m loving Lykke Li’s
“I follow” – its upbeat and makes me feel like I can take on the world!

Sleep

I’m not a great sleeper on a good day – ask anyone that has
ever shared a bed with me!I toss, I
turn, I sleep walk, I talk – it’s a full day’s work in one night.So when times get tough my sleep really
suffers.I have found that the best
thing I can do during times of stress or just to ensure my resilience is
listening to my body and trying to get as much sleep as I can.I’ve read that turning off electronics
(phone, TV, computer) and being conscious of what you’re reading before bed
(nothing too heavy) can also have a positive impact your ability to get to
sleep and have a restful sleep so these are some strategies I use as well.Everything seems easier when you are well
rested.

This too shall pass

I try to remember when times are tough that this too shall
pass and I will get through those things that are challenging for me.We need to remember to be kind to ourselves
and do those things that make us feel good when work or our personal lives seem
crazy stressful.So this month I plan to
listen to upbeat music on repeat, get good sleep, eat well and not sacrifice
exercise in favour of work.Maybe doing
some of these things will be helpful for you too?